If you are considering having your wedding at DRC I highly recommend it! I just had my wedding on January 25th 2014 and it was my dream come true. Here is a brief summary on how it went. Feel free to message me with any questions (I know how you are feeling!)

Ultimate Package

Number of Guests: 50

Length of Stay: Guests arrived on Thursday and stayed from 3 to 7 nights. My husband and I left on Sunday for another resort (Secrets the Vine).

Rehearsal Cocktail Hour: Ballroom (was supposed to be on the beach but got rained out – the ballroom was still great)

Wedding Day: Saturday January 25th, 2014 at 4pm

Ceremony: At the Gazebo. My uncle is a pastor so he married us. I will say from the weddings I saw at DRC how the officiant did the weddings was very different and not quite what I would want for my wedding – I’m not sure if it’s what those people chose but just something to think about.

Cocktail Hour: Jacuzzi w/ the mariachi band

Reception: Seaside Grill (perfect for a reception!!! Especially with the lantern lights and dance floor)

DJ: Used the resort DJ (very good except for some expletives in songs J)

Photography: Used the 50 pictures from the Ultimate Package but I brought my own photographer (pictures were the most important thing for me and it was worth it to have her for us)

Videography: Used the video from the package but also booked an additional hour (30 mins before and 30 mins after) I am sooo happy I did this! The video has made me cry over and over again. Message me if you’d like to see it!

Food: All food was great – the guests commented how impressed they were.

Spa: All bridesmaids used the spa for make-up and hair and they did a great job

Other Suggestions:

- Book yourself in a Preferred Room it’s worth the extra just to have more personalized service at check in etc.

- Also book yourself a nice room. It’s nice to be able to get ready in the room with your bridal party etc.

- Ask for the complimentary room for the groom the night before the wedding that comes with the Ultimate Package.

- Ask your wedding planner for a print out of the room list in your party (if you did a group booking through travel agent etc. this should be really easy) I made copies in the Preferred Lounge for free and gave them to everyone. It was essential to be able to communicate with all the guests (esp. with weather changes etc.)

- Don’t get caught up in the details! Decide the couple decorations you want and concentrate on those. I did place cards, table numbers a couple pictures and one sign (all fit easily into a suit case)

- Don’t pay for all the extras (bows, table cloths, flowers on the gazebo, extravagant centerpieces etc.). If you want all the little details to be exactly how you want I wouldn’t recommend a destination wedding. They blew me away with what they did (which was mostly whatever came with the package), it was better than I could have imagined.

Lindsayczach! thank you so much for that update!!!!!! Looked beautiful!!!

You ended up with seaside grill? I thought you were originally Oceana as I am.. Any other tips? What were your food options? Anything you would have done, or anything you wouldn't have done??? Thank you!Who was your dj!? Did you pay for the dance floor and lanterns? Did they charge for Seaside??

Lindsayczach! thank you so much for that update!!!!!! Looked beautiful!!!

You ended up with seaside grill? I thought you were originally Oceana as I am.. Any other tips? What were your food options? Anything you would have done, or anything you wouldn't have done??? Thank you!
Who was your dj!? Did you pay for the dance floor and lanterns? Did they charge for Seaside??

Thank you!!

- So because there was another reception on the "Deck" at the same time as mine they moved me to the Seaside Grill which honestly I liked even better than the Oceana! Seaside is a circular room so it was perfect for my 5 tables of guests and the dance floor in the middle. Yes I was still charged the same fee ($1K)

- I chose the BBQ buffet and it was great! Plenty of options to choose from everyone really enjoyed it.

- I did pay for the dance floor the smaller one for 30 people (we had 50 guests but that was the perfect size). I also paid for the lanterns and I LOVED them!

- We also had the resort DJ he was great. I brought some of my own music to play (glad I did this for the dinner portion because he wasn't playing my music at first and it was the classic Mexico Madonna remake songs until I asked him to turn my music on! haha). But the dance music was perfect. We didn't pay for an extra hour of the DJ (only had a 3 hour reception) but we headed to Desires after and that was a lot of fun. I'd probably recommend the buffet for that reason as well - it gives your guests more time to dance!

- The wedding planners Claudia and Jorge were there the whole night helping facilitate and make sure the night ran smoothly. And the wait staff was engaging and so much fun.

- I also added last minute the "bubble lights"(?) I think this is what they are called (see picture below) at the gazebo. I didn't pay for any decorations except for this and it was just enough. The backdrop is the most beautiful decor you could have so there is really no reason to pay for all the extra bows, flowers etc. (in my opinion).

- Have just a couple personal touches (pictures a decoration etc.) having a couple of those things made it personal and come together.

- I would do everything the exact same. It sounds so corny but everything was perfect and it was my dream come true. My recommendation is to come with an open mind and you'll be blown away. I didn't quite know what to expect and it was even better than I imagined.

Attached Files

Lindsayczach thank you so so so much for the review! It can be so stressful to plan a wedding with such little communication from the resort so a positive review makes me feel so great about everything, thank you! A couple questions for you:
1. Did you do any outside activities during your stay?
2. How was transportation to the airport?
3. How did you fly with your dress?
4. Was the ballroom well air conditioned?
5. Did you pay for the wedding with credit card or cash? Can you pay before you get to the resort?
If anyone has answers to these i would appreciate it.

Congratulations to everyone! (My wedding is 6/12/14, any other brides during that week?)

1. Did you do any outside activities during your stay? -- we only stayed with our guests for 4 days so we did not. Some guests did the resort activities (bike riding, snorkeling, scuba diving etc.) and they all had a great experience.2. How was transportation to the airport? -- We booked through Apple Vacations and the travel was very simple, no guests had any issues. 3. How did you fly with your dress? -- I got a big, tall bag that could easily fold up. I took the dress out of the bag and they hung it for me on my flights. I honestly could have probably folded it twice and put it in the over head as well. They steamed it for me at the resort (free with Ultimate package) and it looked perfect.4. Was the ballroom well air conditioned? -- Yup no problems!5. Did you pay for the wedding with credit card or cash? Can you pay before you get to the resort? -- You can only pay with Credit or Cash (No checks) we paid with credit when we got there. I'm not too sure if you can pay before -- you may want to change things last minute so I'd pay there if possible.

Trust me I know how stressful it can be! But I promise it is so worth it and you really have nothing to worry about

To answer your questions

heidi64871. Did you do any outside activities during your stay? -- we only stayed with our guests for 4 days so we did not. Some guests did the resort activities (bike riding, snorkeling, scuba diving etc.) and they all had a great experience.2. How was transportation to the airport? -- We booked through Apple Vacations and the travel was very simple, no guests had any issues. 3. How did you fly with your dress? -- I got a big, tall bag that could easily fold up. I took the dress out of the bag and they hung it for me on my flights. I honestly could have probably folded it twice and put it in the over head as well. They steamed it for me at the resort (free with Ultimate package) and it looked perfect.4. Was the ballroom well air conditioned? -- Yup no problems!5. Did you pay for the wedding with credit card or cash? Can you pay before you get to the resort? -- You can only pay with Credit or Cash (No checks) we paid with credit when we got there. I'm not too sure if you can pay before -- you may want to change things last minute so I'd pay there if possible.If anyone has answers to these i would appreciate it.

Just got back from our wedding at Dreams and it was fantastic! We used the gazebo and then had our private beach party reception on South Beach. It was absolutely perfect in every way. They are fantastic and I had nothing to worry about.